Thursday, April 30, 2015

The Stelvio Pass

Passo dello Stelvio —The Stelvio Passis located in the Ortler Alps in Italy between Stilfs ("Stelvio" in Italian) in South Tyrol and Bormio in the province of Sondrio. It is about 75 km from Bolzano and near 200 meters from the Swiss border, and is named for its proximity to the town of Stelvio . It is situated at 2757 meters above sea level and is one of those mostamazingand spectacular placeson Earth. The Stelvio Pass was originally built in 1820-1825 by the Austrians and has since changed little. Due to its location between the Austrian, Swiss and Italian borders, the passage was of great strategic importance for years and was the scene of armed combat during the First World War. One after another, the 48 hairpin turns, extend over 24 kilometers away, with an average gradient of 7.5%. It is the highest paved mountain pass in the Eastern Alps and the second highest in the Alps , just 13 meters below the Col de l'Iseran, France. It is an almost unreal scenario. Furthermore, the way to Davos, through Bormio, is spectacular and picturesque without traffic .

The Stelvio Pass is open from June to September, it can be closed anytime, if high snow fall. The Stelvio Pass retains an importance for sport, it become a cyclist track, when Grand Tour of Giro d'Italia often crosses the Stelvio Pass, Every year, the pass is closed to motor vehicles on one day in late August when about 8,000 cyclists ride on the Stelvio. The Stelvio Pass was also picked by the British automotive show Top Gear as its choice for the "greatest driving road in the world", although their search was concentrated only in Europe.